"Not only have higher prices for much of 2008 been altering consumers' behavior, but more recent economic uncertainties have increasingly been putting a damper on demand, as well," said API statistics manager [image-nocss] Ron Planting.
According to API's Monthly Statistical Report, all major petroleum productsgasoline, distillate, jet fuel and residual fuel oilhave shared in 2008's sluggish deliveries, with January-to-October declines ranging from 2.6% for gasoline to nearly 19% for residual fuel oil.
Both the upstream and downstream segments showed strong recovery from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in October. More than half the production sent offline in September by the hurricanes resumed in October. Still, production from the lower 48 states was 7.2% lower than a year earlier at 4 million barrels per day. Despite an increase in Alaska production, overall U.S. crude oil production fell 5.1% from a year ago. According to government estimates, more than half a million barrels per day of crude oil production was still shut in during October, as well as nearly 3 billion cubic feet of natural gas production.
Refinery activity also gained ground in October, with input to distillation units jumping by more than 14% from September to 14.9 million barrels per day, as all refineries that had been shut down as a result of the storms returned to full operation during the month.
Imports also rebounded. In September, in the wake of hurricane-related refinery and port closures, imports plunged to their lowest level in four years. In October, imports recovered, jumping 5.8% from a year ago, to 13.7 million barrels per day, the highest level since July 2007.
Gasoline imports alone were up nearly 25% from a year ago, reaching 1.35 million barrels per day, the second-highest level ever for the month, after October 2005's import surge following Hurricane's Katrina and Rita.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.